14 Breakfast Cereals of the 1960s That You Won't Find Today

The 1960s breakfast aisle was a sugar-coated wonderland where cartoon mascots danced across cereal boxes and kids begged their mothers to buy whatever was advertised between Saturday morning cartoons. General Mills, Kellogg’s, Post, and Quaker waged war for the family breakfast table with increasingly outlandish flavors, prizes, and characters. Most of these cereals burned bright for a few years before quietly disappearing as tastes shifted, sugar concerns grew, and brands consolidated. This list revisits 14 beloved cereals from the decade that have since vanished from store shelves, taking with them the toys, the jingles, and the Saturday mornings they defined for an entire generation.

1. Quake

Quaker Oats launched Quake in 1965 alongside its rival Quisp, sparking one of the strangest marketing wars in cereal history. Quake was a husky miner mascot with a yellow hard hat who shilled chocolate-flavored corn shapes that were essentially identical to his competitor’s product. Kids were asked to vote for their favorite mascot, and Quake lost the popularity contest, leading to its discontinuation in 1972. Brief revivals popped up over the decades, but the original sweet, slightly cocoa-tinged corn bits never returned for good. Quake remains one of the most beloved losers in cereal marketing history, fondly remembered by anyone who picked the wrong side.

2. OKs

Kellogg’s OKs hit shelves in the 1960s with a mascot called Big Otis, a kilt-wearing Scottish giant who pitched the oat-based cereal shaped like the letters O and K. The marketing leaned hard into Scottish heritage themes, complete with bagpipes in commercials and tartan patterns on the box. The cereal itself was relatively healthy by 1960s standards, but it never caught fire with sugar-crazed kids who wanted Frosted Flakes and Sugar Smacks instead. Kellogg’s quietly discontinued OKs in the late 1960s, ending Big Otis’s brief reign. The cereal occasionally surfaces in lists of forgotten Kellogg’s experiments, but it never returned to production.

3. Corn-Fetti

Post’s Corn-Fetti was a sugar-frosted cornflake cereal that competed directly with Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, and was pitched by a mascot named Captain Jolly. The cereal had a slightly different flake shape and a sugar coating that fans swore was crunchier than Tony the Tiger’s offering. Despite a decent marketing push, Corn-Fetti could never break Frosted Flakes’ grip on the sweetened corn category and was discontinued by the mid-1960s. The Captain Jolly character faded into obscurity along with the brand. Today, surviving Corn-Fetti boxes are collector items, hunted by vintage cereal enthusiasts who remember the slightly more cheerful pirate alternative.

4. Wackies

General Mills launched Wackies in the early 1960s as a chocolate-flavored corn puff cereal aimed at the rapidly growing chocolate breakfast category. The mascot was a wild-haired character whose entire personality was being, well, wacky. Commercials featured slapstick humor and a jingle that lodged itself in kids’ brains for decades. Despite the catchy marketing, Wackies struggled against Cocoa Puffs and Cocoa Krispies, both of which had stronger mascot recognition with Sonny the Cuckoo Bird and Snap, Crackle, and Pop. General Mills discontinued Wackies before the decade ended, making it one of the great forgotten chocolate cereals of the era.

5. Puffa Puffa Rice

Kellogg’s Puffa Puffa Rice arrived in 1965 with a tropical Hawaiian theme, brown sugar coating, and a mascot that leaned heavily into 1960s Polynesian pop culture aesthetics. The cereal had a distinctive deep caramel sweetness that set it apart from regular Rice Krispies and Sugar Pops. Commercials featured hula dancers, ukulele music, and the rallying cry of the brand name shouted with enthusiasm. The Hawaiian theme dated quickly as cultural sensibilities shifted, and the cereal was discontinued by the early 1970s. Puffa Puffa Rice survives mainly in the memories of those who loved that distinctive brown sugar crunch at breakfast.

6. Kream Krunch

Kellogg’s Kream Krunch was one of the strangest cereals of the decade, featuring corn cereal pieces with freeze-dried ice cream chunks mixed in. Flavors included strawberry, vanilla, and orange, and the freeze-dried bits would soften slightly in milk, creating something approximating an ice cream sundae for breakfast. Kids loved the novelty, but parents balked at the price and the inevitable arguments over who got the most ice cream bits. The technology was ahead of its time, and the cost was prohibitive, so Kellogg’s pulled Kream Krunch in the mid-1960s after a short but memorable run that delighted everyone who tried it.

7. Sugar Smiles

General Mills introduced Sugar Smiles as a sweetened corn and wheat cereal in the 1960s, with smiling face-shaped pieces designed to bring cheer to the breakfast table. The mascot was a cheerful sun character whose grin matched the cereal pieces. Commercials emphasized happiness and family togetherness, leaning into the wholesome side of the sugar-cereal boom. Despite the cheerful branding, Sugar Smiles couldn’t find lasting shelf space among heavyweights like Trix and Lucky Charms, and General Mills discontinued the brand before the decade ended. The cereal exists now only in faded advertising archives and the memories of kids who loved its sunny disposition.

8. Choco Crunch

Quaker’s Choco Crunch was an early entry in the chocolate cereal boom, featuring corn cereal pieces with a heavy cocoa coating that turned milk into chocolate milk by the second spoonful. The mascot was a friendly cartoon character who emphasized the cereal’s ability to satisfy chocolate cravings at breakfast time. Choco Crunch had loyal fans but was eventually overshadowed by Quaker’s later success with Cap’n Crunch’s Chocolate Crunch variants. The original Choco Crunch disappeared from shelves by the early 1970s, becoming one of many casualties of Quaker’s aggressive product turnover during the cereal industry’s most experimental era.

9. Pink Panther Flakes

Post launched Pink Panther Flakes in the late 1960s to capitalize on the cartoon character’s massive popularity, featuring strawberry-flavored corn flakes that turned milk a vibrant pink. The pink milk effect was the entire selling point, and kids loved the visual transformation. The Pink Panther himself appeared on the box and in commercials with his signature laid-back charm. Despite strong character recognition, the cereal had a short run and was discontinued in the early 1970s. Various pink-milk cereals have appeared since, but the original Pink Panther Flakes remain a beloved memory for anyone who experienced their first Technicolor breakfast.

10. Rice Honeys and Wheat Honeys

Nabisco’s Rice Honeys and Wheat Honeys were honey-coated puffed cereals that competed with Sugar Pops and Honey Smacks for the sweetened-puffed-grain market. The mascot was Buffalo Bee, a cheerful cartoon bee who promoted the cereals with friendly jingles and prize offers. The cereals were known for their distinctive honey flavor and the small toys that came in the box, which were genuinely good prizes by 1960s standards. Nabisco discontinued both cereals in the early 1970s as the company shifted focus away from breakfast cereals. Buffalo Bee disappeared with them, ending one of the era’s most charming mascot runs.

11. Twinkles

General Mills introduced Twinkles in the early 1960s, primarily marketed to very young children, as a star-shaped corn cereal with an animated mascot named Twinkles the Elephant. The box itself was the gimmick, featuring an attached storybook on the back that parents could read to children at breakfast. The storybook concept was charming but expensive to produce, and the cereal struggled commercially against more aggressively marketed competitors. Twinkles vanished from shelves before the end of the decade, taking the storybook boxes with it. Vintage Twinkles boxes with intact storybooks are now highly sought-after collector items from the golden age of cereal marketing.

12. Frosted Mini-Wheats Original Bite Size

While Frosted Mini-Wheats still exists today, the original 1960s version was a completely different product. The first Mini-Wheats came in larger, denser biscuit form with a much heavier sugar frosting and a chewier texture that fans swore made the modern version pale in comparison. The original recipe also came in cinnamon and brown sugar variants that disappeared decades ago. Kellogg’s reformulated the cereal multiple times over the years to reduce sugar and change the texture, leaving the 1960s version a memory. Longtime fans still debate whether the original or modern incarnation deserves the loyalty of breakfast cereal purists.

13. Crispy Critters

Post’s Crispy Critters was an animal-shaped sweetened oat cereal launched in the early 1960s, pitched by Linus the Lionhearted, a cartoon mascot voiced by Sheldon Leonard. The cereal pieces were shaped like various jungle animals, and the box featured Linus and his cast of friends prominently. Linus even got his own animated television show that ran for several years, an unusual case of a cereal mascot becoming a primary cartoon character. Despite this cross-promotion, Crispy Critters was discontinued in the late 1960s. A brief revival in the late 1980s failed to recapture the magic, and the cereal vanished again permanently.

14. Sugar Stars

Kellogg’s Sugar Stars was a star-shaped sweetened corn cereal that briefly competed in the increasingly crowded sugar-coated breakfast market. The cereal had a slightly tangier sweetness than typical sugar cereals, and the star shapes held milk well, staying crunchy longer than flake competitors. The mascot was a cheerful cartoon star, and the commercials emphasized starting the day with stellar energy. Despite decent reception, Sugar Stars couldn’t carve out enough shelf space among Kellogg’s own competing brands like Sugar Pops and Sugar Smacks. The cereal was discontinued by the end of the decade, joining the long list of forgotten 1960s cereal experiments.

• Tags:
• 1960s nostalgia
• vintage cereals
• breakfast history
• Discontinued Foods
• retro brands